The Boston Red Sox haven't exactly gotten what they expected from infielder Vaugh Grissom, the team's trade return for Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale this season, and the organization made a roster decision on Thursday.
Boston removed Grissom from the 10-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Worcester, per team announcement. The 23-year-old has played in nearly as many games with the Red Sox (23) as Grissom has with the WooSox (22), logging 13 appearances in Worcester since beginning his rehab assignment on July 20.
Grissom was slated to be Boston's starting second baseman -- a role that remains open for the taking -- but a left hamstring injury upon joining the team meant that Grissom wouldn't be on the Opening Day roster. Instead, Grissom's belated Red Sox debut took place on May 3 against the Minnesota Twins. Less than a month later, Grissom again landed on the injured list, with a right hamstring strain on June 2 and has been working to recover ever since while Boston's worked to fill the second base void; calling upon David Hamilton, Romy Gonzalez, and most recently, Nick Sogard.
While playing in Worcester alongside Triston Casas, who's recovering from a rib cartilage injury, Grissom has been hitting .215/.310/.294 with the WooSox, recording a home run and eight RBIs along with 11 strikeouts too. Needless to say, it hasn't been the ideal first year for Grissom in a Red Sox uniform.
"It's tough. But it could be worse," Grissom said in July, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. "It’s one of those things where you have to trust the process. Everybody has their (bad) year. This is mine. In a way, it's nice to get it out of the way, but it sucks. Not a lot of guys go through this game and don’t get hurt."
